Laurent Brondel Madagascar Rosewood/Carpathian Spruce 00 build

[Berf]

lclyman, as usual this is an enthralling read. You've mentioned the ergonomic qualities of Laurent's guitars a couple of times:

And when I recently had the opportunity to extensively play a recent build of his, I also knew his guitars had that extra ergonomic comfort and feel that only a luthier with much playing experience would know to include...

Are there any specific ergonomic features that Laurent incorporates in his builds or is it a more general, overall feel thing?

[jeastman]

That bracing is interesting. Is that Madrose laminated onto the top? Is it for structural reasons or so you only see the madrose when you look through the soundhole? Either way, great guitar you have coming there. I almost went with Madrose for my build...but now awaiting delivery of a Madrose Taylor ltd in May so am satisfied all around

[Laurent Brondel]

Jamin, the only Madagascar RW on the top is the .080" thick bridgeplate. Maybe Larry will post a pic of the top, I have no secret or anything to hide concerning my bracing and building methods.
What you see through the soundhole are the back braces, and yes they're capped with Madagascar RW, as well as the centre strip. It makes them stiffer without much added weight, a feature I got from Rick Turner.

[jeastman]

Originally Posted by Laurent Brondel

Jamin, the only Madagascar RW on the top is the .080" thick bridgeplate. Maybe Larry will post a pic of the top, I have no secret or anything to hide concerning my bracing and building methods.
What you see through the soundhole are the back braces, and yes they're capped with Madagascar RW, as well as the centre strip. It makes them stiffer without much added weight, a feature I got from Rick Turner.

Hey Laurent, thanks for responding. By top, I was referring to the top of the braces...sorry for the poor description.

I like the capping feature. Besides the structural benefits, it does provide a cool aesthetic. I look forward to seeing the completed instrument.

I just noticed you're in W. Paris. My whole father's side of the family is in and around Lovell, ME. Next time I'm up that way I'd love to stop in!

[lclyman]

Originally Posted by Berf

lclyman, as usual this is an enthralling read. You've mentioned the ergonomic qualities of Laurent's guitars a couple of times:

Are there any specific ergonomic features that Laurent incorporates in his builds or is it a more general, overall feel thing?

Hi Berf,
In this case I'm talking about the feel of Laurent's neck and fretwork...he uses larger almost gibson-esq frets that immediately reminded me of some of the older Gibson archtops...and I've always loved the feel of those necks...

He also rolls the edges of the fretboard...very similar to what's often done to electric guitars to make the neck feel more comfy...in fact I used to roll the edges of the necks of all my telecasters myself using the handle edge of a screwdriver...and after relating that to Laurent he made me sign and get notarized a statement swearing to keep a minimum of 300 yards between any screwdriver in my possession and one of his guitars for as long as I own one of his instruments...which will likely be a very long time indeed.. and to which my wife incidentally is also quite in favor of...so it's all working out great..!

But anyway....a lot of these ergonomic features that I've found so appealing come from Laurent's familiarity with the electric guitar side of things as well as the acoustic guitar world...which very much mirrors my background as well..

Thanks ,
Larry

[lclyman]

It's Neck and Neck now...

Since I was waxing on above about the ergonomic qualities of Laurent's necks and fingerboards, I thought I'd post one of the most recent build pictures Laurent just sent me.

In this case it's a shot of my guitars' neck and fingerboard ready for assembly..

The fingerboard shows my requested use of actual numbers instead of the more traditional fret marker dots...

I've felt that as I get older it's good to be more literal whenever possible..



(Authors note: I'm just kidding about the fret marker numbers...but not the literal part...)

BTW..that's a really beauteous curly maple binding around the fretboard...

According to my latest email final assembly should be happening in the next few days..or as Laurent put it.."...It's going to be a guitar Saturday or Monday.."

To which I replied..."What will it be on Sunday..?"

No answer to that one yet...maybe Laurent will chime in..

Anyway...after my guitar self actualizes it's time for varnishing, where as I understand it, things will slow down quite a bit...

More time to tell some guitar stories if you ask me...

LC

[Laurent Brondel]

Originally Posted by jeastman

My whole father's side of the family is in and around Lovell, ME. Next time I'm up that way I'd love to stop in!

You're welcome anytime, just call or drop me an email when you're in the vicinity.

[Laurent Brondel]

Originally Posted by lclyman

To which I replied..."What will it be on Sunday..?"

Hopefully still a guitar, we'll know for sure Monday…

[El Conquistador]

Originally Posted by lclyman

Understated Elegance

Very early on I told Laurent how much I was taken with his unique “half arrow” rosette design. Something about that pattern and it’s flow resonated with me. There’s a musical quality to it and I knew it was a visual element that for me would tie things together.

Here’s a couple of shots of that:



I don't know about you, but these pictures sound really good to me..!!

More to come..

LC

When I first spotted my Brondel B4 at Schoenbergs, his design sense, and this very pattern, was one of the things that drew me to the guitar. Once I played it I was hooked. Here is a finished picture of this beautiful design on my B4.


I truly love my Brondel. I am looking forward to seeing your guitar finished.
Steve

[Berf]

Larry, thanks for the follow-up. By the sounds of it you are a rather dangerous fellow with tool in hand... really looking forward to seeing the finished guitar. Cheers, Berf

[lclyman]

Originally Posted by Berf

Larry, thanks for the follow-up. By the sounds of it you are a rather dangerous fellow with tool in hand... really looking forward to seeing the finished guitar. Cheers, Berf

Berf,
Dangerous...yep..to me as well as others...

And I am looking forward to your new Sexauer guitar review...

Thanks,
Larry

[lclyman]

Birth Announcement # 1

I received an email last night from Laurent stating the following:

"Bevels and neck mortise tomorrow, then neck carving and shaping. Tomorrow night, there will be an A-3!"

(Authors note: "A3" is Laurent's designation for the body size that also includes his "00" design)

Well there it is...I'm not sure if the finishing of the box or the actual first stringing is technically when all the materials actually become a guitar. But in order to cover all my bases I'm just going to declare two official birthdays for my guitar..

So....January 15, 2011...a date that will go down in (my) history for sure.

And in keeping with events like these I think it's instructive, or at least entertaining, to see who else made their debut on this same date..

A little research turned up the following admittedly selective list of notable historical figures who share my guitar's date of birth...

First of all with a nod to the birth country of the luthier - The great French playwright Moliere, and unfortunately, the convicted murderess Marie LaFarge...but there seems to have been some controversy about her conviction..so I'm going to put a net positive spin on these two..

From the acting world we have Mario Van Peebles, Julian Sands, and my persoal favorite..Lloyd Bridges, father of Jeff and Beau, but most importantly star of "Sea View" and and "Airplane"..!

From the world of great statesman we have the Japanese Shogun Ashikaga Yoshizumi, Swedish minister and recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize Nathan Söderblom, President of Egypt Gamal Abdal Nasser, and quite the topper, American civil rights leader and Nobel Peace Prize recipient Martin Luther King Jr...

And lastly, from the world of music from which I'm going to let you all draw whatever conclusions you'd like...American drummer Gene Krupa, American singer Captain Beefheart, Spanish-born singer and actress Charo, and American singer/guitarist (Lynyrd Skynyrd) Ronnie VanZant ...

Quite a list and surely good role models all..especially Charo don't you think..?

And here's the official birth announcement #1



More coming...!!

LC

[lclyman]

Let's Show Some Leg....!

It seems I've gotten a number of requests to show more build pictures..or guitar porn as some might say...

And I though you all were enjoying my side commentary...well I can take a hint..

Since I find the neck carving and shaping so fascinating, here's a veritable boatload of recent pics from Laurent of this part of the build..


Pre-carving the heel



Carving the neck barrel:


Refining the heel:


Pencil marks:


"Shoeshining" neck barrel:


Simple set-up & jig :


Refining neck/body fit:



LC

[lclyman]

And here's a few more:

End wedge:


Front:


Back:


And according to Laurent...now it really is a guitar...!!

Next the finishing..!!

LC

[Burton LeGeyt]

Glad to see it made it through Sunday intact!

It looks great.